Means for treating thread or the like



Feb.2,1943. 1.1. JRDAN. 2,309,771

MEANS FOR TREATING THREAD OR TH' LIKE Filed Sept. 12, 1959 K 5 lwentor:

LAW/:RN Y J. JORDAN /l I 4 I ,ff/,1

(Ittorneg Patented Feb. 2, 1943 MEANS FOR TREATING THRED GR Lavern J. Jordan, Village, Ohio, assigner to Industrial Rayon Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a'corporation oi Deia Application 'september iz, 1939, sex-iai No. 294,455

Claims. V(ci. 34-153) This invention relates to means for subjecting l thread or the like (hereinafter referred to as thread) to the action of a temperature-changing uid while it is being continuously -but temporarily stored in generally helical form. By temperature-changing iluid is meant, inter alia, such media as steam, hot water or oil which are capable of transferring heat without being permitted to come into physical contact with the thread as well as heated gases such as air that are discharged directly upon the thread itself. Itis also intended to apply to certain media capable of reducing the temperature of thread for the purpose, for example, of controlling the rate of reaction of a chemical process occurring in or on the thread.

In general, the invention contemplates an improved apparatus for subjecting thread while it is continuously but temporarily stored in generally helical form as, for example, upon a threadadvancing thread store device to the action oi' a greater quantity oil temperature-changing uid toward one end of said device than toward the other. ri"he thread-advancing thread store de'- vice is advantageously of the type having a plurality of rotatably supported thread-manipulating elements and in accordance with the inven- Y tion provision is made for introducing the temperature-changing fluid to the interior of at least one of the thread-manipulating elements; this thread-manipulating element is also so constructed and arranged as to supply temperature- Vstore devices within the purview of the invention are characterized by means providing that the heat, and therefore the drying conditions, to-

which the thread is subjected, `is more intense over the portion of the device handling relatively wet thread than over the portion of the device handling relatively dry thread.- In other words, the temperature to which the thread is heated, and therefore the rate at which the thread is dried, is greatest at the beginning of the Adrying operation. Preferably, however,the heat is applied in such manner that its intensity varies progressively lengthwise of the device, being greatest on the portion of the device at which the thread is wettest and least on the portion of the device at which the thread is driest.

Subjecting the thread to the greatest amount of heat and highest temperature on the portion of the device at which the thread has the highest moisture content and to less heat and lower temperatures on the portions of the device where the thread has lower moisture contents makes for a greater degree of uniformity in the drying of the thread. It also decreases the possibility of damage to the thread, which, as the moisture content decreases, becomes more susceptible to damage from heating to excessively high temperatures. More emclent drying of the thread can be obtained by means of the present invention, a factor which is extremely advantageous in the continnous drying of thread, due lto the shortness of the time permitted for the drying of the thread in a continuous process.

Apparatus of the type embraced by the invention and capable of carrying' out the threaddrying operation comprises a thread-advancing thread store device embodying, among other things, two spaced thread-advancing elements which, during rotation of at least Vone thereof, cooperate to wind the thread into a traveling spiral consisting of a plurality of generally helical turns. By way of illustration, reference will be made to three types of thread-advancing reels' generally similar to the reel shown, described and claimed in Patent No. 2,145,281, granted January 3i, 1939,-to Clarence C. Walters. Each of such thread-advancing reels, like the reel shown in said patent, comprises two wholly rigid reel members, the perlpheries oi which are made up of spaced, longitudinally extending bar members, the bar members of the two reel members being interleaved.

In the drawing, three different embodiments of the invention are shown. Figure l is a longitudinal sectional elevation .along line l--l oi Figure 2 of one form o drying reel heated internally by means of air. Figure 2 is an end elevation from line 2 2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation from line 3 -3 oi' Figure 4 of another embodiment of the invent tion. Figure 4 is a corresponding end elevation from line t-d of Figure 3. Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a third embodiment of the invention. Figure 6 is an end elevation thereof from-line 6 6 of Figure 5. In the drawing, like reference characters refer to like parts throughout.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a thread-advancing reel embodying two wholly rigid reel members I and 2. Said reel members are generally circular in cross section, each having a substantially cylindrical thread-bearing periphery made up of spaced, longitudinally extending bar members. Reel member I is provided with spaced, longitudinally extending bar members 3,while reel member 2 is provided with a like number of spaced, longitudinally extending bar members alternating therewith. Each of said reel members is rotatably supported from a frame member for rotation about its own axis. The axes of the reel member, however, are displaced from each other, being disposed in what is referred to in geometry as skew relation.

Reel member I, which may be termed the concentric reel member, is of one-piece construction. having its bar members 3 formed integrally with a substantially cylindrical body portion G. Said body portion 6, which is mounted on a drive shaft 1 journalled in frame member 5, is rigidlyheld on such drive shaft by a cap bolt 8 threaded into the end of the drive shaft. Cap bolt 8 serves to hold said body portion 6 against a pin 9 passing through drive shaft 1 projecting into a groove Il) formed in body portion 6. Driving relation is thereby provided between said drive shaft 1, which is positively rotated, and concentric reel member I.

Reel member 2, which may be termed the eccentric reel member, is driven by contact of its bar members l! with the bar members 3 of concentric reel member I. Said reel member 2 is formed with its bar members Il rigidly fixed at one end thereof to a rotatable supporting member I2 disposed at one end of reel member I, the bar members 4 projecting from said member l2 between the bar members 3 of reel member I. By virtue of this construction, the reel as a whole, and also the otherreels described hereinafter, is of cantilever form; i. e., it is supported from one end only and has its other end unobstructed by shafting, supporting means or the like.

The bar members 5 of'reel member 2 are individually formed, being disposed in holes in member I2 in which they are rigidly held by set screws I3. Supporting member I2 has rigidly fixed therein a bearing sleeve I 4 by means of which it is rotatably mounted on frame member 5. The axis of,rotation of supporting member I2, and hence of eccentric reel member 2, is inclined from parallelism with, but is disposed in a plane ofset from and parallel to, the axis o rotation of reel member I.

Consequently, when the reel members are rotated by rotation of drive shaft 1, each of said reel members rotates about its Own axis. At the same time, the thread turns wound about said reel members are transferred at intervals from the bar members of one reel member to those of the other; that is, the thread is carried by the bar members 3 of reel member I over the upper half of the reel and by the bar members 4 of reel member 2 over the lower half of the reel. Simultaneously, because of the inclined relation of the axes, that portion of each thread turn carried by the bar members of each reel member is advanced lengthwise of the other reel member so that the thread as a whole advances lengthwise of the reel in va plurality of spaced, generally helical turns th'elspacing of which is determined by the amount of: inclination between the axes of the reel members.

As in each of the several embodiments of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 6, inclusive, the thread is advanced toward the unsupported end of the reel. i

In the rcel of Figures 1 and 2, reel members I and 2 are preferably formed of some material having good heat conductivity, such as aluminum. Reel member I is hollow, having an interior chamber I5 into which a heated medium such as hot air passes from hollow shaft 1 through openings IG therein. Reel member I, being of massive construction, is heated largely by conduction; however, said reel member is also provided with a plurality of openings I1 extending radially of said reel member from said interior chamber I5 to points between the bar members 3 of said reel member. By means of said openings I1, heated air passing out of interior chamber I5 reaches the thread directly.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, openings I1 vary in size. the largest opening being nearest the supported end of the reel. The other openings decrease regularly in size as they approach the .unsupported end of the reel. Therefore, the

thread advanced along the reel is subjected to the most heat where the thread is wettest and to progressively less heat as it advances lengthwise of the reel, this because of the decreasing amount of heated air to which the thread is subjected. After the thread advances beyond the smallest hole I1, the heat to which the thread is subjected reaches it only by conduction. lwherefore the amount of heat to which the thread is subjected is less than that to which the thread is subjected while in direct contact with the heated air issuing through openings I1. 'Ihe embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 3 and 4 is generally similar to that of Figures 1 and 2, differing therefrom primarily in that its concentric reel member Ia is provided with radially extending openings Ila disposed substantially throughout its entire length. The openings I1a are largest at the supported end of the reel, since thread having'the highest moisture content is carried by this portion of the reel. As will appear from Figure 3, the openings I1a are of two sizes, being divided as shown into groups extending over the first and second halves of the thread-bearing periphery of the reel.

The reel of Figures 3 and 4 is generally similar to that of Figures 1 and 2. It comprises a reel member Ia concentrically mounted upon drive shaft 1a journalled in frame member 5a. Said reel member Ia is held on drive shaft 1a by means of a-set screw I9 bearing against said drive shaft 1a and by means of a cap 20 threaded i on the unsupported end of said drive shaft 1a.

'supporting member I2a is rigidly mounted on a bearing sleeve I4a by means of which it is journalled on frame member 5a for rotation about an axis disposed in the desired oiset and inclined relation to the axis of rotation lof reel member la.

As already mentioned, reel member la is prov' vided with a plurality of radial openings Ila of i grooves 22 formed in the inner wall of the longitudinally extending opening 2| in reel member la. Openings`|6a in drive shaft 1a. are so 1ocated that they conduct heated air or other suitable medium from the interior of said drive shaft to corresponding grooves 22 and thence through corresponding openings I'Ia to the exterior of the reel. The openings I'Ia vary in size according to groups, being larger adjacent the supported end of the reel.

The general construction of the reel shown in Figures 5 and 6 is similar to that of the reels described above; that is to say, it comprises two wholly rigid reel members Ib and 2b.

Reel member lb comprises a plurality of spaced, longitudinally extending bar members 3b rigidly fixed to or formed integral with a body portion 6b mounted on hollow drive shaft lb. Body portion 6b is provided with an interior chamber i517 which is closed oi at the unsupported end oi' the reel by means of a plate 23 which is clamped in place by cap bolt Bb threadf eci into the end of drive shaft 1b. Said cap bolt lib urges reel member ib against a pin 9b passing through drive shaft lb and projecting into grooves lb formed in the end of said reel member ib.

As in the preceding embodiments of the invention, reel member 2b comprises separately formed bar members tb rigidly held in place in holes in supporting member i217, as by set screws i3b. Supporting member l2b is provided with a bushing lib by means of which it is mounted on frame member b.- The latter is formed with its axis in offset and inclined rela- The axis of rotation of reel member 2b coincides with the axis of frame member 5b, thus effecting the desired relation between the axes of rotation of the two reel members.

in the reel of Figures 5 and 6, the heating medium is supplied through hollow drive shaft ib, being discharged into the interior chamber E52) of reel member ib through openings l-b. A frusto-conical deiiector 263 is associated with said drive shaft in such manner that it deects a Vlarge portion of the air passing out of the openings ltb through the inclined openings` lib adjacent the 4supported end of the reel. Thus by means of the defiecting means 26, more heated air is passed through the inclined radially exinvention hereinabove described, the greatest amount of heat is lapplied to the thread at a point Y where it has its highest moisturel content, the amount of heat being thereafter decreased either progressively or non-progressively. Thread having a high moisture content can be safely heated to a higher temperature than can the thread having a low moisture content; consequently, if

the invention were not employed, the low temperature to which the dried or partially dried thread could safely be heated would be also the maximum temperature to which the wet thread could be heated, with consequent low speed of drying. The present invention therefore makes for eilcient, rapid continuous drying of the thread with no likelihood of its being damaged.

I't will be understood that the above-described embodiments of the invention are illustrative only and that numerous modifications may be made therein without departing in any way from the spirit of the invention. For instance, threadadvancingl thread store devices of other types than those illustrated may be employed. Further, the thread-advancing thread store device,

whether of the type shown or other types, mayV be heated or cooled by other means than air passed therethrough in -the manner described. It is also apparent that the present invention is not limited to the useof a temperature-changing fluid in treating-thread per se, but may be employed in treating -any strip material capable of beingsubjected tothe processes or handled by the apparatus of the present invention.

` tion to theaxis of 'rotation of reel member ib. I

It is intended that the patent shall cover, by suitable expression in the appended claims, whatever features of patentable novelty reside in the Y digitate with those of the rst reel member; a

hollow member supporting the first reel member; a chamber in said reel member and around said hollow member, said hollow member being provided with conduits communicating with said chamber; openings extending through the wall of z the first reel member between the chamber and the exterior .of said reel member; and guide tending openings l lb adjacent the supported end I of the reel than is passed through the radially extending openings .Iib disposed toward the unsupported end of the reel.

In this embodiment of the invention, moreover, the bar members db of reel member 2b, which bar members are disposed between the bar members 3b of reel member Ib, are tapered toward the flow of air to the thread is thus made possible.

In each of the several embodiments of the means within said chamber for directing a tern-4 perature-changing iiuid vadmitted thereto by the hollow member toward the openings.

2. A thread-advancing reel of the character described in claim 1 in which said openings are flared toward ther exterior of'said iirst reel member.

3. A thread-advancing reel of the character described in claim 1 in which certain of said openings are .inclined outwardly toward that enciA of the reel at which the thread to be treated is rst applied.

4. A thread-advancing thread store device comprising two thread-,manipulating elements which are disposed in offset and inclined relation to each other and cooperate toform a threadbearing periphery along which thread is advanced; means for rotatably supporting said thread-manipulating elements; means associated with said supporting means for introducing a temperature-changing iluid into the interior of at least o 'ne of said thread-manipulating elements; and means in the last-mentioned threadmanipulating element for applying the temperature-changing uid to the thread. said applying means being so constructed and arranged as to supply a greater quantity of said :duid adjacent the point at which the thread is rst applied to the periphery of the thread-advancing thread store device than adjacent the point upon the periphery at which the thread is removed.

5. A thread-advancing thread store device of 10 

